New England Research & Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 14,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,664,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,535 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,647 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE A opened at $116.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.23. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $109.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.46.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.44%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.15.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.